Israeli lawmaker suspended for throwing water at colleague

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli lawmaker Anastassia Michaeli was suspended from the Knesset for a month for throwing water at a colleague during an argument.

The punishment was handed down Tuesday to the Yisrael Beiteinu Party lawmaker following the incident during a debate in the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee meeting a day earlier.

Michaeli on Tuesday apologized to Raleb Majadele of the Labor Party, saying her actions "happened in the heat of the moment. I was upset. I had no intention of disrespecting the Knesset or Knesset member Majadele."

The punishment is considered to be harsh; suspensions usually last one to two days. Arab lawmaker Hanin Zuabi was punished recently with a two-week suspension for participating in the 2010 Gaza flotilla.

The lawmakers were arguing over the proposed dismissal of a school principal in the Negev who took his students on a human rights march in Tel Aviv.

Majadele told Michaeli to "shut up" during the argument and then went on to say, "She won’t shut me up. This is not Yisrael Beiteinu. Fascism will not be allowed to take over the house."

Michaeli calmly poured a cup of water and threw it at Majadele before storming out of the committee room. It was not the first time that Michaeli has been punished for attacking a colleague.

Majadele said Tuesday that he was considering filing an official assault complaint against Michaeli with the police.